The reason that the vote on Alberto Gonzales was deferred until Thursday is, according to Democrats, that Democrats want more time to debate the issue. Republicans say it was to prevent Bush from having another feather in his cap during his SOTU. Here are some of the quotes from Senators today:

Sen. Patrick Leahy:

Judge Gonzales is the wrong man for this job," Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, declared, using the title Mr. Gonzales acquired as a member of the Texas Supreme Court. Mr. Gonzales' actions as White House counsel, Mr. Leahy continued, "have tarnished our country's moral leadership in the world and put American soldiers and American citizens at greater risk."

Sen. Orrin Hatch plays the race card:

Colorado Congressman and chief immigration foe Tom Tancredo is ready to assume his role as "most colorful" Colorado politician now that Ben Nighthorse Campbell has departed. Denver's alternative weekly, Westword, interviewed the Congressman recently, here's the exchange:

Q: With Ben Nighthorse Campbell gone, any truth to the rumor that you're going to declare yourself Native American?

A: I've got the Harley to prove it. I'm calling myself Tom Tom Tancredo. And I came up with that all by myself.

[link via Walter in Denver with a hat tip to Colorado Politics and Makes Me Ralph.]

Markos at Daily Kos reports that 30 Democrats, including Minority Leader Reid, will vote "no" on Gonzales. Nice to see them take a stand.

Update: Raw Story reports the number is 40 Dems who will oppose him.

Update: Reuters confirms.

Fox News (tv) is reporting that Hillary Clinton collapsed during a speech in Buffalo. Right before she began, she mentioned she had been suffering from a stomach ailment.

Update: She's fine, 24 hour stomach bug.

The ACLU wants Alberto Gonzales, if confirmed, to appoint a special counsel to investigate torture abuses:

The American Civil Liberties Union today called upon senators to insist - prior to voting on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general - that he commit to immediately appoint an outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute any criminal acts by civilians in the torture or abuse of detainees by the U.S. Government.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN: Charges of coziness with Republicans mark Democratic chairman's race, from ex-Rep. Roemer's past opposition to Clinton's economic plan to ex-Rep. Frost's 2004 re-election ad touting ability to work with Bush and Hastert. As candidates prepare to court committee members Saturday in New York, some veterans fear the spectacle of chaos. "It's supposed to be a rigged deal," grouses ex-Clinton strategist Carville.

[via Politcal Wire.]

Senator Barbara Boxer has a diary at Daily Kos and writes about her appreciation to the blogoshphere for supporting her position on Condi Rice. Here's a bit:

I can't thank all of you enough -- the Daily Kos community, and the blogosphere as a whole -- for all of your effective work during the recent debate over Condoleezza Rice's nomination. Your support and participation in this critical debate meant so much to me.

.... You helped to get our message out to millions of Americans -- I couldn't have done it without you. And you made a difference. You gave me the voice I needed to ask the tough questions during Dr. Rice's confirmation hearings. And you gave the entire United States Senate the voice it needed to take its "advice and consent" responsibility seriously. In fact, Condoleezza Rice received 13 votes against her confirmation -- the most votes against any Secretary of State's nomination since 1825.

When I first read the news reporting this, I thought it was dumb satire. Turns out, Bush really said it:

Mr. Bush also encouraged the leaders to support his plan to add personal investment accounts to Social Security, which White House officials say could benefit blacks because they have a shorter average life span than whites and end up putting more money into the retirement system than they take out.

African-American men "have had a shorter life span than other sectors of America," Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, told reporters. "And this will enable them to build a nest egg of their own and be able to pass that nest egg on to their survivors."

Jesse at Pandagon has now started the Black People Gonna Die Watch, to be known as "BPGDW."

by TChris

In July, the Bush administration predicted that last year's budget deficit of $412 billion would fall to a mere $331 billion this year. Today the administration admitted that the number will be closer to $427 billion, making this the fourth consecutive year in which the deficit has grown.

Although "senior administration officials insisted they were still on track to fulfill Mr. Bush's campaign promise of reducing the federal budget deficit by half by 2009," the administration has offered no convicing plan to meet that pledge while moving forward with its other costly goals: making last term's tax cuts permanent, paying for the aftermath of the war in Iraq (and maybe a war in Iran?), and privatizing social security.

The administration asked Congress for about $75 billion to cover war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, but provided few details about how the money will be spent. It asked for another $5 billion for related purposes, including "financial aid to Palestinians as they try to build a democratic government and a heavily fortified embassy in Iraq for the State Department."

by TChris

As expected, the Senate confirmed President Bush's choice of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. Thirteen senators (twelve Democrats and independent James Jeffords) voted against the confirmation. Two Republicans did not vote, producing a final tally of 85-13.

Despite the overwhelming vote, White House vote-counters were somewhat disappointed, having hoped the nominee would glean well over 90 votes.

Although Alberto Gonzales is likely to be confirmed as Attorney General next week, his confirmation vote may be a bit tighter. As TalkLeft noted earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee split along party lines today, sending his confirmation to the Senate by a 10-8 vote.

The ACLU sends this press release by e-mail:

WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today narrowly approved the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, sending to the full Senate an appointment made controversial by the Bush Administration's torture policies. In a sign of how controversial the nomination has become, all of the Judiciary Committee's Democratic members voted against Gonzales.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which does not take a position on cabinet nominations, said that the Senate cannot meaningfully exercise its constitutional duty of "advise and consent" on the Gonzales nomination because the Administration continues to stonewall against releasing documents on how it developed its policies on interrogation and torture, and Gonzales himself refuses to answer even basic questions on his role in those policies.

Human Rights First:

Human Rights First is formally opposing Alberto Gonzales’ confirmation and they have created a web movie that explains how Gonzales’ legal advice opened the door for the prison abuse scandals that shocked the United States and the rest of the world. Click here to view the web movie now. Once you’ve seen the movie, you can take action by urging your Senators to vote against Albert Gonzales’ nomination for U.S. Attorney General.

Also, reacquaint yourself with this article in Salon by Alan Berlow with new information on Gonzales and Bush.

The attorney general nominee claims he and then Texas Gov. Bush held "rolling" discussions before executions were approved. He's almost certainly not telling the truth.